During the Crusades, were there any attempts of European settlement in the Levant other than knights and clergy?

by LordBiscuit1837

The Crusades are easily one of my most favourite historical periods, and I like to pride myself on my unusually large body of knowledge on the Crusades, but alas I am but an amateur historian.

This is a question that I've been running through my mind and through Google for a long time, but I haven't found a definitive answer. I would like to know if the Frankish crusaders made any attempt at settlement in the Kingdom of Jerusalem or other parts of the Levant. Were they solely focused on conversion and the preservation of the holy sites, or were there some actual settlements set up by Westerners?

sunagainstgold

Heya, you might be interested in reading the answer to "During the Crusades, did Western Europeans settle in the Holy Land?", which also gives some further reading recommendations on the topic.

An excerpt:

In order to help evoke the righteousness of the mission and the piety of its participants, the chroniclers paint a picture of the entire reach of society participating, from peasants to, yes, knights and petty nobles (as followers, that is, not as formal crusaders!).

But on the other hand, some supplied details don't really jive with the idea of Crusade being a pilgrimage and a mission of liberation. Ekkehard of Aura tells us that the equites and pedites (mounted and foot soldiers) were accompanied by enormous numbers of ruricolae (peasants), who brought along their wives and children and household goods. Guibert of Nogent says, "You would have seen remarkable things, most apt to be a joke. Pauperes whose oxen had been fitted to a two-wheel cart and iron-clad as though they were horses, so as to carry in the cart a few possessions together with small children."

This is a description of people who have no intention of returning.

This is a description of people who want to transplant their lives.

saintplasticcups

In my research (I am getting my masters in Medieval Art History) I have never come across anything noting the settlement of people who were not actively participating within the crusader movement.

However, William of Tyre does discuss the "Newcomers" of the knightly class after the First Crusade and their comments on the Knights who had stayed in Jerusalem. The newcomers demanded titles and land and often ridiculed the eastern dress of the families who stayed in Jerusalem.